Community of Practice

This policy-oriented research aims to provide insights and
recommendations to the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education,  and other organizations involved in the Alternative Learning System (ALS)  Program in the Philippines. The report  focuses on how teacher education may be designed and how potential teacher
candidates may be recruited, deployed, and certified as quality providers of ALS .

Special interest groups or communities of practice are seen as important mechanisms for knowledge sharing in the knowledge management literature. However, there are few empirical studies of communities of practice in the software engineering field. This article presents an action research project in a small size software consulting company, where the organization of the learning activities went through three phases, where different models were tried out and evaluated. We discuss the models in relation to community of practice theory to explain the learning effect of the models. A flexible model for organizing knowledge-sharing seems to provide the greatest learning effect.

This article presents the work of a research and action group that promoted the creation of spin-outs by women researchers in science and engineering. The project involves developing and offering a community of practice to support women university researchers who have the potential to create spin-outs; the community’s goal is to develop and maintain networking opportunities and reciprocal relationships, and facilitate the multidirectional flow of academic knowledge and expertise between researchers and their students. From an academic point of view, this paper aims at answering the research question of whether a community of practice mediated by IT tools can provide a useful support and generate a positive impact on the launching of a startup by women in STEM. Finally, to measure the success of the community, two surrogates will be used: satisfaction and effectiveness (in assisting decision

Background: Since being identified as a concept for understanding knowledge sharing, management, and creation, communities of practice (CoPs) have become increasingly popular within the health sector. The CoP concept has been used in the business sector for over 20 years, but the use of CoPs in the health sector has been limited in comparison. Objectives: First, we examined how CoPs were defined and used in these two sectors. Second, we evaluated the evidence of effectiveness on the health sector CoPs for improving the uptake of best practices and mentoring new practitioners. Methods: We conducted a search of electronic databases in the business, health, and education sectors, and a hand search of key journals for primary studies on CoP groups. Our research synthesis for the first objective focused on three areas: the authors' interpretations of the CoP concept, the key characteristics of CoP groups, and the common elements of CoP groups. To examine the evidence on the effectiveness of CoPs in the health sector, we identified articles that evaluated CoPs for improving health professional performance, health care organizational performance, professional mentoring, and/or patient outcome; and used experimental, quasi-experimental, or observational designs. Results: The structure of CoP groups varied greatly, ranging from voluntary informal networks to work-supported formal education sessions, and from apprentice training to multidisciplinary, multi-site project teams. Four characteristics were identified from CoP groups: social interaction among members, knowledge sharing, knowledge creation, and identity building; however, these were not consistently present in all CoPs. There was also a lack of clarity in the responsibilities of CoP facilitators and how power dynamics should be handled within a CoP group. We did not find any paper in the health sector that met the eligibility criteria for the quantitative analysis, and so the effectiveness of CoP in this sector remained unclear. Conclusion: There is no dominant trend in how the CoP concept is operationalized in the business and health sectors; hence, it is challenging to define the parameters of CoP groups. This may be one of the reasons for the lack of studies on the effectiveness of CoPs in the health sector. In order to improve the usefulness of the CoP concept in the development of groups and teams, further research will be needed to clarify the extent to which the four characteristics of CoPs are present in the mature and emergent groups, the expectations of facilitators and other participants, and the power relationship within CoPs.

Implementing and evaluating a Communities of Practice model to align diverse learning and teaching styles in a transnational university. Why did you choose the project? The project was chosen to explore an effective approach to engage academic staff in learning and teaching innovation and improvement. This is particularly important in the context of Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) because XJTLU is a transnational university where staff come from all over the world and from highly diverse educational contexts. In addition, and related to having a large cohort of international staff, XJTLU is characterised by high turnover of staff. Finally, while around ten percent of students are international, the majority of XJTLU's student cohort is mainland Chinese, which means they have come from a particular educational background, while at XJTLU they are expected to adjust to a rather different approach to learning and teaching, which is much more self-directed and active. The aim of this project was then to explore ways of effectively aligning diverse learning and teaching styles of both staff and students in a transnational university.

We use identity as a multidimensional lens to explore ways in which beginning teachers saw themselves as scientists and as science teachers during and after 10-week summer apprenticeships at a science lab. Data included four interviews with each teacher, three during the apprenticeship and one after the first year of teaching. Two themes emerged that were used to organize the findings: (a) science as a practice and (b) science as a community of practice. Teachers came to appreciate certain science practices, speech acts, and tools. As scientists, they noticed and engaged in the nonlinearity, messiness, risk taking, evolution over time, and complexity of science (their own and others'), and in both levels of scientific activity, theory and data, and their interplay. Their scientist identity also came to incorporate the delicate dynamics of collaboration, autonomy, and mentoring within a community. However, for several reasons the teachers raised, such practices became elements of...

Using a theoretical perspective of communities of practice, this case study examines a prospective chemistry teacher's inquiry-based teaching during his practicum. Conrad was a former student of an inquiry-oriented science course, Inquiry Empowering Technologies (IET). The research questions were (a) How did Conrad translate the IET inquiry practices during his practicum?; (b) How did the mentor teacher shape Conrad's participation?; (c) In what ways did Conrad negotiate new meanings of inquiry as a result of his practicum? Interview transcripts were the primary data source. Conrad carried many of the IET inquiry practices into his practicum. He equated inquiry with the use of evidence and had students create evidence-based explanations for how soap works. He chose not to incorporate the tentative nature of science. Although traditional in his own teaching, the mentor teacher supported Conrad by allowing him to teach through inquiry and by removing time constraints. As a result of his practicum, Conrad negotiated new meanings of inquiry teaching and developed an expanded view of technology. Conrad believed that high school

Both quantitative and qualitative methods are being increasingly used to investigate the learning dynamics that take place within CSCL environments. Since such practices are a crucial aspect of the CSCL field, Design Patterns (DPs) can be used for capitalizing on experience and sharing know-how among practitioners. This paper describes three DP instances that have been developed and fine tuned by a community of practice consisting of researchers, instructional designers and tutors with the aim of supporting monitoring and evaluation of CSCL interactions. The DP solutions are based on a set of indicators, some of quantitative and some of qualitative nature, as well as on the methods to gauge these indicators, starting from data tracked by the e-learning system. The process of development of these DPs is described and examples of use are reported and discussed in order to advance the instructional design field and inform the development of CSCL systems. The proposed DPs belong to a Language, aimed at describing tracking problems in different types of e-learning systems and at capturing in their solutions the know-how developed by communities of experts in the different fields.

Considerable interest exists among lifelong learners in the USA about fossils and the science of paleontology. Unlike some other science-related groups, e.g., astronomy and ornithology, interest in fossils among amateur paleontologists is primarily focused within local clubs and societies with little national coordination. This paper
presents the results of formative evaluation of the FOSSIL project, conducted after the project “Kickoff” meeting held at the NAPC (North American Paleontological Convention) in 2014. FOSSIL is developing a national networked community of practice that
includes amateur and professional paleontologists. Our research indicates that more than 60 amateur fossil clubs and societies exist in the USA, of which almost 40 have elected to be part of the FOSSIL network. Overarching goals of this program include
enhanced collaborations between amateurs and professionals, knowledge-building about paleontology, access to resources for lifelong learning, and development a viable learning community of practice focused on topics of common and societal interest, such as collections (including digitization), evolution, climate change, and K-12 outreach. In addition to more traditional means such as list-serves and newsletters, FOSSIL is developing an online community (myFOSSIL) and using social media (Facebook and Twitter) to foster communication and interactions among stakeholders, and thus promoting the concept of “social paleontology”.

This paper presents a study of one public-private partnership in e-government in Sweden, Bygga Villa, that involved 16 organizations from academia, government, and industry to develop an innovative internet portal for the private construction industry. Our research purpose was to answer (1) What are the challenges to developing collective competence in public-private partnerships? and (2) How can these challenges be overcome to achieve project success? We found that the potential for conflict due to differing goals, resource scarcity, and interdependence of tasks was the greatest challenge for Bygga Villa's ability to develop collective competence while the partnership overcame this challenge through (1) co-developing a clear project charter, (2) recruiting a project leader with strong knowledge broker skills, (3) conducting joint problem-solving tasks using boundary objects, and (4) ensuring an understanding of the ''big picture" through continuous open and balanced communication. Moreover, the project was successful due to members' ability to embrace conflict and turn it into creative conflict through dialogue while ensuring a high level of project satisfaction by the partnership's individual members.

This paper presents a narrative enquiry of the use of learning technologies and communities of practice (Wenger, 1998) in creating and delivering the online Master of Arts (Writing) at Swinburne University of Technology. We consider the research question of how we have come to understand and practice elements of a social constructivist pedagogy involving engaged, learner-centred peer and community support both as a creative team and as e-moderators. We consider, too, that our pedagogy is informed by poststructural understandings of learner identities as invested and unfixed (Weedon, 1997). This study utilizes the self as data by drawing on narratives of course developers and lecturers collaborating to create unique materials. While our methodology utilises elements of autoethonography (Chang, 2008), it also involves analyzing themes and narrative configurations in stories (Polkinghorne, 1995), specifically those of tutors and students. Our narrative exemplifies and proposes strategies for writing e-curriculum for web 2.0; for scaffolding e-learning, and for creating and maintaining communities of invested, engaged learners. Simultaneously we add nuances to the scholarly conversation about e-learning communities, e-curriculum development and subjective academic narrative methodology.

Background: In the experience of health professionals, it appears that interacting with peers in the workplace fosters learning and information sharing. Informal groups and networks present good opportunities for information exchange. Communities of practice (CoPs), which have been described by Wenger and others as a type of informal learning organization, have received increasing attention in the health care sector; however, the lack of uniform operating definitions of CoPs has resulted in considerable variation in the structure and function of these groups, making it difficult to evaluate their effectiveness. Objective: To critique the evolution of the CoP concept as based on the germinal work by Wenger and colleagues published between 1991 and 2002. Discussion: CoP was originally developed to provide a template for examining the learning that happens among practitioners in a social environment, but over the years there have been important divergences in the focus of the concept. Lave and Wenger's earliest publication (1991) centred on the interactions between novices and experts, and the process by which newcomers create a professional identity. In the 1998 book, the focus had shifted to personal growth and the trajectory of individuals' participation within a group (i.e., peripheral versus core participation). The focus then changed again in 2002 when CoP was applied as a managerial tool for improving an organization's competitiveness. Summary: The different interpretations of CoP make it challenging to apply the concept or to take full advantage of the benefits that CoP groups may offer. The tension between satisfying individuals' needs for personal growth and empowerment versus an organization's bottom line is perhaps the most contentious of the issues that make CoPs difficult to cultivate. Since CoP is still an evolving concept, we recommend focusing on optimizing specific characteristics of the concept, such as support for members interacting with each other, sharing knowledge, and building a sense of belonging within networks/teams/groups. Interventions that facilitate relationship building among members and that promote knowledge exchange may be useful for optimizing the function of these groups.